The IDF versus drug dealers: How an inter-agency effort is denting the flow of narcotics

(JNS) - The Israel Defense Force's Paran territorial defense brigade is in charge of defending 170 kilometers of the Israeli-Egyptian border and large sections of the Negev desert. As such, dealing with the constant efforts of narcotics smugglers from both Egypt and Israel to push drugs across the border is an inevitable part of its duties.

The brigade includes two co-ed infantry battalions that specialize in protecting the Egyptian border against terrorism and drug smuggling-the Caracal (Wildcat) and Bardelas (Cheetah) battalions. A new battalion is due to join the brigade as well.

The brigad...